Bone Gaming Dice


Jamestown Rediscovery

Dice

Twelve gaming dice have been found during the excavations. Most are made of bone, but two are ivory and one is lead and was probably made by a soldier casting lead shot in the fort.

Pass-dice was a popular game of the time in which two players would try to throw doubles. Every die that has been excavated at Jamestown is about the size of a pencil eraser. The dimensions may relate to the martial laws in the colony, which forbade soldiers from "dicing." The men made their dice very small so the pieces could easily be hidden from their superior officers.







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